Meaning & use
carrying capacity
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can support indefinitely without degradation.
Grammar: Used as a singular noun, often with 'the' when referring to a specific environment.
Patterns
- the carrying capacity of something
- reach carrying capacity
- exceed carrying capacity
The carrying capacity of the island for deer is limited by the available food and space.
When the population exceeds the carrying capacity, resources become scarce and many animals starve.
Ecologists study how human activities affect the carrying capacity of natural habitats.
noununcountable
The maximum amount of traffic, visitors, or load that a system or place can handle without problems.
Grammar: Often used with 'of' to specify the system or place.
Patterns
- the carrying capacity of a road
- increase carrying capacity
- beyond carrying capacity
The carrying capacity of the stadium was reached, so no more tickets were sold.
Engineers are trying to increase the carrying capacity of the bridge by adding support cables.
Tourism has grown beyond the carrying capacity of the small town, causing environmental damage.
Common combinations
- exceed the carrying capacity
- The number of tourists now exceeds the carrying capacity of the national park.
- reach carrying capacity
- The fish population has reached carrying capacity and is no longer growing.
- increase the carrying capacity
- Building more roads may increase the carrying capacity of the city.
- the carrying capacity of the land
- The carrying capacity of the land for grazing is limited by rainfall.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: carrying capacity or capacity?
carrying capacity vs capacity
Often used alone to mean the maximum amount a container can hold; carrying capacity specifically refers to a sustainable population or load limit.
Practice
The deer population on the island has reached the carrying capacity, which means that:
Choose one answer.
Carrying capacity is the maximum sustainable population; once reached, resources become scarce, leading to starvation or reduced reproduction. Option An is wrong because exceeding capacity causes harm, not support. Option C describes migration, not carrying capacity. Option D is incorrect because carrying capacity can change only if conditions change, not automatically.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carrying capacity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.